How Griezmann emerged as France's free-scoring hero at Euro 2016

Two penalties tell the story about Antoine Griezmann.

In the 2016 Champions League final, the Atletico Madrid forward smacked his spot-kick off the crossbar. It summed up an ultimately disappointing match for Griezmann, who saw the title slip to rival Real Madrid in penalties.

Fast forward a few weeks, and here he was in the semi-finals of Euro 2016, standing 12 yards away from goal, no one else around him. The Champions League final was in the back of his head. But the outcome was different. Griezmann, the growing hero for France, wrong-footed Manuel Neuer and scored the penalty that ultimately won the game.

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"I really wanted to make sure I put it in the back of the net tonight," he said.

Griezmann's whole professional life has been a journey of personal growth. Considered too small in his home county, Griezmann could only find an opportunity to play in Spain. That required passing a different kind of test: studying at school during the day in southwest France, and training across the border at night in San Sebastian.

"Every time I was rejected it was the same problem: size. In Spain, they couldn't care less about physique - and they're world champions," Griezmann once said.

On Thursday, after France defeated Germany to book a spot in the Euro 2016 final, he was feted like a hero. He bowed to the Stade Velodrome crowd as his name rang out across the stadium.

Finally, appreciation in the purest form.

But this tournament has tested Griezmann the way his formative years did. After witnessing a sluggish start to the Euros, manager Didier Deschamps benched the 25-year-old along with Paul Pogba. It seemed like too much tinkering in too little time. Neither player was happy, even if Deschamps said he was only managing Griezmann's fitness. (After all, Griezmann has featured in 69 matches over the past 12 months.)

In reality, the manager seemed to prefer the directness and pace of Kingsley Coman and Anthony Martial.

But Griezmann, as he did his whole life, proved everyone wrong. He emerged as a substitute against Albania and scored a 90th-minute winner - producing France's first shot on target, no less.

It was the strongest of headers. So much for size.

And he took off from there. Scoring two goals in quick succession to kill off the Republic of Ireland in the Round of 16, popping in another against Iceland in the quarter-finals and then sealing Germany's fate, Griezmann has achieved legendary status alongside Michel Platini, who scored a record nine goals at Euro 1984.

"No one can repeat what Platini did," Platini's former international teammate, Luis Fernandez, said years later.

Griezmman's coming close. No other Frenchman has challenged the former Juventus man's mark. Not even Thierry Henry. To put it in perspective, Griezmann is now fourth all-time among Euro scorers after just one Euro campaign.

It's something that hasn't been lost on Henry, who watched Thursday's game as a TV pundit.

"We again have a hero - a striker who can make us win tournaments," he said. "Hopefully."

The talent was always there, but it's clear that Griezmann has gained the unanimous respect of his peers with his virtuoso performances in France. Without him, Les Bleus would struggle to break matches open.

Griezmann made himself available to Deschamps in any way possible. He just wanted to play. But he forced the manager to make decisions.

Deschamps' first tactical conundrum was about Dimitri Payet, who, contrary to Griezmann, exploded to start the tournament. Payet scored the winner in the opener against Romania, and the question was whether the West Ham playmaker would take up a more central position behind Olivier Giroud. Payet had initially played off the wings, but the argument was that he would be liberated in the middle.

Slowly, Deschamps changed his formation from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1. But it wasn't Payet in the middle. Griezmann stole the show from the wings, and earned his move into a more natural No. 10 role. N'Golo Kante, thought to be the engine of this side, was sacrificed.

Now Griezmann could dictate the tempo, and he had Giroud as necessary support. In fact, it was the Arsenal man who headed down a perfect ball for the Atletico sniper to finish off Ireland.

There's no question Griezmann is the main man. Everything goes through him. He has the freedom to roam as he pleases in the attacking third, taking passes from all over the pitch.

That's the Spanish in Griezmann shining through. Always shouting "Vamos!" when he scores, he has the same technique and touch as many descendants of Spain's golden generation. He personifies that spirit of La Roja, with those deft flicks and timely runs. He's always moving.

So the early days in the Basque Country paid off. Had things been different, he - and France - may have been worse for it.